World Security Report2015-07-02 07:50:17

The State of Cybersecurity in APAC

News of cyber attacks dominate today's headlines. No country is safe from malicious cyber actors. In a world where cyber threats are constant, it is important to understand both how governments are addressing cybersecurity challenges and steps they can take to do better.

BSA, the Software Alliance released its first Asia-Pacific (APAC) Cybersecurity Dashboard, an in-depth study of 10 APAC markets and their approaches to cybersecurity. Our goal is to inspire government leaders in each market to prioritize cybersecurity as an issue of national importance. This APAC Dashboard is a companion to the European Union Cybersecurity Dashboard, released by BSA earlier this year.

The Dashboard's findings are clear: the 10 markets examined in APAC have been slow to produce comprehensive national cybersecurity strategies and implement the legal frameworks needed for security and critical infrastructure protection. Yet there are tremendous opportunities to improve the systems needed to protect against, prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyber attacks. Doing so will bolster enterprise, government, and consumer confidence in cutting edge Internet-enabled technologies and services, driving economic growth and productivity, and will reduce the costs and risks associated with growing cyber threats.

The Dashboard shows most governments aren't leveraging the expertise and knowledge of the private sector to improve their approach to cybersecurity. Additionally, several markets impose local standards and testing requirements that are inconsistent with truly international approaches to cybersecurity.

The good news is that all of the markets currently have national computer emergency response teams (CERTs), an important step in ensuring that governments can respond to cyber attacks quickly and effectively. Additionally, almost all of the APAC markets have dedicated significant resources to cybersecurity education, including innovative cybersecurity awareness programs aimed at the general public.